Collector-operating valve.



PATENTED MAY 19, 1908.

G. MA'OLOSKIE. COLLECTOR OPERATING VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 28.1906.

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GEORGE MACLOSKIE, OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW- YORK.

COLLECTOR-OPERATING VALVE.-

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 19, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

-Be it known that I, GEORGE MAoLosKIE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, in the county of Schenectady and State* of New York, khave invented certain l new and useful Improvements in Collector- Operating Valves, of which the following is a s ecification.

his invention relates to electric railways and especially to the apparatus mounted on an electric railway vehicle'for collecting current from an bverhead conductor or a-thirdra1l.l It 1s sometimes found to -be advisable or necessary to operate one portion of a railway by means of current supplied by a trolley wire or overhead conductor, and another portion by current taken from a third-rail arran ed near the roadbed. The moving vehic e must therefore be equipped with two or more 'current-collecting devices .tor coperate with these two su ply conductors.

` the collecting devices, so that the idle one.

Means must be provided a so for retracting may rest out of the way ,and be prevented from striking any structure erected adjacent .to the roadway.

The broad features of such a scheme have y been disclosed by other inventors. My invention relates to an o erators valve which can be operated bot automatically and manually to cause the retraction or, the adrail system.

vanceof acurrent collecting device. For the sake of convenience, I have illustrated it as aplied to an overhead collector, but it is equa y applicable to the shoe of a third- In the accompanying drawing,Figure. 1 is a diagram of. pi ing and valves for pneumatically controlling the collectors Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section, on the line 22,

, Fi 3, of my. improved collector-operating va ve; Fig. 3 is a cross-section of e same on the line 3 3, Fig. 2 and Fig. 1 is a crosssectionon the line 4.-4, Fig. 2..

I have chosen to'sholw two collectors and j two valves, though it is evident that but one bers 5 are pivoted onza pedestal 6 mountedon the electric vehicle. The adjacent ends of thelower member 5 are providedwith.- sector gears 5 which interrnesh so that the members move in unison. -The lower ends of the upper members extendbeyond their pivots, and strong springs 7 are attached thereto and to` the lower members 6 ,at or near their-pivots 6C These springs urge the shoev upwardly against the conductor, the shoe being electrically connected with the pedestal byilexible leads 8.

The pedestal is hollow and contains a cylinder 9 in which fits a piston 10 connected by a piston-rod 11^with a yoke 12 which stands above the lugs 13 on ythe lower'members of the toggles. A lstrong helical spring 14 is compressed between the top of the pedestal and the piston and urges thexlatter downward with a force amounting to several hundred pounds; sufficient to overcome the upward thrustof the springs 7 and ull thev shoe away from the 'conductor when t e yoke presses down on the lugs 13.

The lower end of the pedestal is closed, as'

by a screw-plug 15, so that a chamber is formed under the piston to which compressed air or other fluid can be admitted through a pipe 16. The area of the piston is sufficient to enable the air `to lift it against the tension of the spring and holdthe yoke 12 outof engagement with the lugs 13.

' The air is' stored in a suitable reservoir and the pressure is maintained by any suitable air compressor (notshown). The admission of the air to the cylinder in which the piston works, and its exhaust therefrom, are controlled by a valve located at some point on the vehicle convenient for the operator. Inasmuch'as electric vehicles are usually arranged to run .either end foremost, there is a 'valve att each end of- 'the vehicle and each valve simultaneously controls vboth current collecting devices, if more 'than one is used. The construction of 'this collector operatin valve forms the subject-matter of the presen application. -Prior to my invention, it has been proposed'to use a somewhat similar valve having a handle connected directly the 4moving parts. But the objection to' this was ythat in case the valve was o erated automatically, in the manner hereinafter described, the handle was thrown violently from one. of its positions to theV other, and would seriousl injure the Voperator if it happened tostrike him. By my invention, the handle for operating the valve manually is not affected by the automatic operation of the valve, so that the danger of injuring is obviated.

The collector-o erating valve has a casing 17 provided with) a bushing 18 having a thickened central portion provided with a longitudinal groove 19. The casing is closed at each end by a screw-plug 20. In each end of the casing is a piston 21, 22 rigidly connected by a rod 23. p Between the hubs 24 of the pistons is a slide valve 25 of the D type, which seats in the groove in the bushing and has wings 26 extending up on eac-h side of the rod 23. A spring 27 is secured between said wings by pins 28 and bears against the wall of the bushing 18 opposite to the valve and thereby operates to hold the valve 25 in enga gement with its seat in the groove 19. In

the. lower side of the bushing 18 are an exhaust port 29 and a delivery port 30, and at the upper right-hand end of the bushing is an escapement'port 31. Instead of extending the elivery port 30 directly through the casing at the bottom side thereof, as diagrammatically indicated in Fig. 1, it is arranged so as to cormect with a duct 32 made in the periphery of the bushing 18 and connects at the top thereof with a channel 33 which extends near the left-hand end of the bushing. A supply port 34 enters the valve chamber at about the center of the front side of the bushing 18 after turning through a right angle in the casing and connects with a pipe 51 leading from' the supply of compressed air.

On the front side of the casing 17, near each end thereof, is arranged a tappet valve 35 with an extended stem and seating against a sleeve 36 threaded into the upper end of the valve chamber 37. A s ring 38 is interposed between the lower end of the valve 35 and the bottom of the chamber which o erates to normally hold the valve in closet position.

A tappet port 39 extends from each valve chamber 37 into the respective cylinder in which the pistons 21 and.22 are located. A T-shaped hand-lever 40 is pivoted to a lug 41 at the top of the ca sing 17 and has an arm overlying each tappetvalve 35 so that by rocking the lever in one direction or the other vthe corresponding valve is forced from its seat.

The exhaust port 29 is connected to a drippipe 42 tapped intothe casing 17 at 43. The delivery port 30 is connected, as above stated, by way of duct 32 and channel 33 to a delivery pipe 44 tapped into the casing 17 at 45 and leading through a double check valve 46 to the lower end of the cylinder 9 in the collector pedestal. The escapenient'port 31 -is connected by a pipe 47 tapped into the casing 17 at 48 and extending up alongside of the collector pedestal where it is provided v with a pil-ot valve 49 having its stem bearing against a short lever 50 adapted to be enL assess gaged by one of the arms 5=of the trolley when the latter is allowed to rise above its normal working level. It will be .observed that the pistons 21 and 22 are not packed and accordingly their chambers will normally be supplied with compressed air by leakage of the latter therearound. Accordingrly when the pilotJ valve 49 is forced from its seat by lever 50 coming in contact with the trolley arm 5 the. pressure to the right of pis- 75 ton 22 will be relieved, and as the pistons 21 and 22 move to the right under the expansion of air at the left of piston 21 the valve 25 will be moved from the position indicated in Fig. 2 to the right until it connects the upper ends of ports 29 and 30 and thereby allowing the air in the collector cylinder 9 to esca e and permitting the spring 14 vto exert its force of recoil to retract the collector arms.

When it is desired to raise the collector to working osition, the hand lever 40 is thrown to the leflt to open the left-hand tappet valve 35 and permit the air to the left of piston 21 to escape to thereby effect the movement of the valve 25 to the left into the position shown 90 in Fig. 2, closing thel exhaust port 29 and opening the delivery port 30 to the compressed air supplied through port 34.

lNhere two collectors are used on a vehicle, as indicated in Fig. 1, the delivery pipes 44, 16 and the pipes 47 leading to the pilot e valves of both collectors are connected -so that both collectors may be controlledby a single engineers valve. In order to `prevent the compressed air delivered from one collector-operating valve'to its pipe 44 being exhausted through the other valve, a double check valve 46 is interposed between the pipes 44 of the respective valves.

` I do not desire to restrict myself to the 'particular form or arrangement of parts erein described and shown, since it is a parent that they may be changed and mo i- 'ed without departing from my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is,

1. In current collecting apparatus for electric vehicles, a collector operating valve comprising acasing7 a piston in said casing, a slide valve connected to said piston, means for normally maintaining balanced pressure on opposite sides of said piston7 and handoperated means for relieving the pressure on either side of the piston according to the direction it is desired to move the valve.

2. In current collecting apparatus for electric vehicles, a collector-operating valve comprising a casing, a piston in said casing, a slide valve connected to said piston, means for normally maintaining balanced pressures 125 on opposite sides of said piston, and tappet valves arranged at both ends of said caslng' for relieving the pressure on either side of said iston.

3. n current collecting apparatus for elecl13o tric vehicles, a collector operating valve coinprlslng a casing, a doub e ended piston 1n said casing, a slide valve disposed between the ends of said piston, means for normally maintaining balanced pressures o n opposite endsof said piston and tappet valves at both vends of said lcasing for rellevng the pressure a casing, a double ended piston in said casing, a slide valve disposed' between the ends of. 'said piston, means for normallymaintaining balanced pressures on oposite ends of said piston, tappet valves at both endsof said casing for relieving the pressure on either end of said piston, and a double-ended lever pivoted to said casing and adapted to alternately engage said tappet valves.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 27th day of July, 1906.

GEORGE MACLOSKIE. Witnesses:

' BENJAMIN B. HULL,

GRACE M. HARRIGAN. 

